Tuesday, April 5, 2016

The New Brown Shirts

It's deja vu all over again.

In a recent report from Politico, the focus was on the private security force hired by the Trump campaign to enforce order during his events. This force is in addition to the secret service protection which has always been sufficient for every other candidate. Perhaps Trump's invective and vitriol is beginning to backfire because legal action and investigation is being considered. Although all the candidates allocate a small percentage of their funds for private security, the Trump campaign's allocation is double or triple the usual amount.

I am reluctant to agree with the comparisons that have been made between Trump and Hitler. Trump may be a bombastic blowhard with delusions of godhood but he hasn't been party to genocide. He may have some shady financial connections but he's not politically connected to murderous despots. Still, in the beginning, neither was a certain German party leader...

In 1933, Germany was in an economic slump. It was a beaten country whose leaders were weak. It felt alienated and attacked from all sides. It felt it had no friends. It had no real allies in its attempts to recover from ruinous war expenses. It was being torn apart from the inside out by contentious political factions.

The Commentator

I have been writing speculative fiction for over 40 years, but only
recently have I been able to pursue it full-time. After retiring from
my position as an air traffic controller, I decided to devote myself to
my writing, not realizing I was trading one stressful career for
another. Nevertheless, through my short fiction and novels, at least I
have an outlet for my obsession with the written word.